Usually there is a gap between a movable body and a fixed body, which bodies regularly carry out a movement relative to each other, which gap prevents rubbing between, or collision of, the two bodies. For example, commercial aircraft regularly comprise a number of control flaps to carry out flight control tasks, which control flaps can be moved relative to fixed structures, for example the fuselage or the wings, in order to influence the management of forces of the aircraft in a desired manner. At the same time, for cruise flight of an aircraft it is particularly important to achieve the lowest possible drag coefficient so that smooth surfaces in the region of control surfaces and their transition to fixed structures are preferred in the retracted state.
A secondary flight control system of a commercial aircraft, for example a high-lift system, often comprises high-lift flaps or slats or similar bodies that can carry out a very distinct movement relative to a fuselage or a wing of the aircraft. A leading-edge flap that is movably arranged on a wing and that is also known as “slat” can, for example, be moved in at least one spatial direction relative to the respective wing and to the adjacent aircraft fuselage without adjacent structural components being damaged. For this purpose a gap is implemented between an end surface, which faces the fuselage, of the leading-edge slat, which gap should completely disappear in the retracted state of the leading-edge slat, thus providing a smooth and even surface. This is made possible by a fairing transition in a wing root, also referred to as a “root fillet”.
Such a fairing transition is essentially implemented as a plate-shaped component with a base plate and an elastic cover plate, which plates are attached to the fuselage of an aircraft by means of several screws with the use of a sealant that needs drying. In an aircraft of the series AIRBUS A 320 fastening takes place on a fairing component arranged near a wing root, which fairing component is sometimes referred to as a “BAE panel,” in a position adjacent to an end surface of a leading-edge slat. Subsequently, the heads of the screws are closed with a sealant. Normally the fairing transition is produced separately of the structure to which it is to be attached, with holes being made in said fairing transition.
With such a design of fairing transitions it may happen that the hole pattern of the fairing transition frequently does not correlate with the hole pattern at the point where it is to be installed. Consequently, the screws used for attachment are difficult or even impossible to insert. Furthermore, the gap dimensions present between the surface of the place of installation and the fairing transition are often incorrect after installation; during subsequent deinstallation of the fairing transition the heads of the screws are frequently damaged and the entire fairing transition is deformed, and consequently new components are required. An additional difficulty is presented by the additional drying time, usually several hours, of the sealant, when new components need to be installed.
It is thus at least one object to provide a fairing transition for integration in the transition region between a fixed body and a movable body having a fairing transition that, if at all possible, has no, or very little, adjustment work so that the installation time is short, there is no need for rework, and the expenditure is significantly limited. In addition, other objects, desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent summary and detailed description, and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background.